SEE Part 1 preliminary work explained
Preliminary Work and Taxpayer Data accounts for 14 of the 85 scored questions on SEE Part 1, about 16%. It covers everything a preparer settles before calculating any tax: who the taxpayer is, whether they must file, which filing status and dependents they may claim, their residency status, and which other returns and reporting obligations apply. These are the facts that every later answer depends on.
The questions tend to be fact-heavy rather than computational. A scenario describes a household, and you decide what follows from it.
What the outline covers
| Area | What to know |
|---|---|
| Prior-year returns | Carryovers (capital loss, charitable, credits), comparison for accuracy |
| Taxpayer information | Date of birth, marital status, dependents, identity protection PIN, photo ID |
| Residency and citizenship | Resident versus nonresident alien, green card, visas, ITIN |
| Filing requirements | Who must file, due dates, extensions |
| Filing status | The five statuses and their tests |
| Dependency | Qualifying child, qualifying relative, tiebreakers |
| Sources of income, adjustments, deductions, credits | Identifying what the return needs |
| Other returns and taxes | Employment, gift, international information returns |
| Special filing situations | Foreign income, disaster areas, injured spouse |
| Foreign accounts | FBAR and Form 8938 |
| Kiddie tax | A child’s unearned income taxed at the parent’s rate |
| ACA | Household income, household size, premium tax credit |
Filing status
There are five statuses: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse. Marital status is generally determined on the last day of the year. A spouse who died during the year is treated as married for that whole year, so the survivor can still file a joint return for the year of death.
- Head of household requires being unmarried or “considered unmarried”, paying more than half the cost of keeping up a home, and having a qualifying person live there for more than half the year (a dependent parent can live elsewhere).
- Qualifying surviving spouse is available for the two years after the year the spouse died, if the taxpayer has a dependent child living at home and has not remarried.
- A married person living apart from the spouse for the last six months of the year, and keeping up a home for a child, may be “considered unmarried” and file as head of household.
Exam scenarios often hide the filing status in the facts. Settle it before anything else.
Dependency
Qualifying child tests: relationship, age, residency (more than half the year, with exceptions for temporary absences such as school), the child did not provide more than half of their own support, and generally did not file a joint return. The age test is under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student, or any age if permanently and totally disabled, and the child must be younger than the taxpayer (or spouse).
Qualifying relative tests: not anyone’s qualifying child, relationship or member of household for the whole year, a gross income limit, and the taxpayer provides more than half the support.
When a child is the qualifying child of more than one person, the tiebreaker rules decide: a parent wins over a non-parent; between parents, the one the child lived with longer; if equal, the parent with the higher AGI.
Residency and identification
A non-citizen is a resident alien under the green card test or the substantial presence test; otherwise a nonresident alien, who files Form 1040-NR. A US citizen married to a nonresident alien may elect to treat the spouse as a resident and file jointly, which brings the spouse’s worldwide income into the return. Someone who needs a taxpayer number but is not eligible for a Social Security number applies for an ITIN on Form W-7.
An identity protection PIN is a six-digit number that confirms the taxpayer’s identity on the return. A new one is issued each year.
Other obligations to spot
Part of preliminary work is noticing what else must be filed: Schedule H for household employees, Form 709 for gifts above the annual exclusion, the FBAR and Form 8938 for foreign accounts and assets, and Form 8379 when a joint refund may be taken for one spouse’s debt. The details are tested in the specialized returns and advising domains; here you only need to recognise that they apply.
The kiddie tax applies to a child’s unearned income above a threshold, taxed at the parent’s rate. It covers children under 18 and, depending on their earned income, some 18-year-olds and full-time students under 24. Know the structure and the forms (Form 8615, or Form 8814 to report the child’s income on the parent’s return).
Sample questions
Question 1. Jonah is 22, a full-time university student, and lives with his parents except while he is away at school. He earned a little from a summer job and did not provide more than half of his own support. Which statement about Jonah's status for 2025 is correct?
- A. He cannot be a dependent because he is over 19
- B. He is his parents’ qualifying child because he is a full-time student under 24
- C. He can only be a qualifying relative, because he lives away at school
- D. He is a qualifying child only if his parents prove they paid more than half of his support
Show answer
Answer: B
Jonah meets the age test for a qualifying child because he is under 24 and a full-time student. Time away at school counts as a temporary absence, so he meets the residency test. The support test for a qualifying child asks whether the child provided more than half of his own support, not whether the parents provided more than half, which is the qualifying relative test.
Question 2. Elena's husband died in March 2025. She has not remarried, and her two children live with her. Which filing status may Elena use for 2025 that is most favourable?
- A. Single
- B. Qualifying surviving spouse
- C. Married filing jointly
- D. Head of household
Show answer
Answer: C
A spouse who dies during the year is treated as married for the whole year, so Elena can file a joint return for 2025 that includes her husband’s income and deductions up to his death. Qualifying surviving spouse is available only for the two years after the year of death, so for 2026 and 2027 if she still qualifies. Single and head of household do not apply for the year of death, because she is considered married for 2025.
Question 3. A client says she received an identity protection PIN from the IRS last year and asks whether she can use the same number on this year's return. Which answer is correct?
- A. No, a new IP PIN is issued each year and the current one must be used
- B. Yes, an IP PIN stays the same for as long as the taxpayer is enrolled
- C. The IP PIN is only needed on paper returns
- D. The IP PIN replaces her Social Security number on the return
Show answer
Answer: A
An IP PIN is valid for one calendar year, and a new one is generated each year. Using last year’s number on an e-filed return causes a rejection. The IP PIN does not replace the Social Security number or ITIN, and it applies to paper and electronic returns alike.
What to practise
Write the five filing statuses and their tests from memory, then the qualifying child and qualifying relative tests side by side. Take three households you know and decide filing status and dependents for each. If you can do that without looking anything up, this domain is under control. Next, income and assets.